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GLP enjoys successful return to PL+S 2022

Details: 18 May 2022

Germany - The GLP stand proved to be one of the main attractions in Hall 12.1 at Prolight + Sound in Frankfurt. The generous hospitality area provided ample space for personal discussions with customers, colleagues and friends. GLP reports that the quality of visitors was high, which more than made up for the reduced numbers. The general mood was remarkably relaxed, which seemed fitting for both exhibitors and visitors.
"We were able to spend several productive days in Frankfurt," says GLP managing director Udo Künzler. "We enjoyed many good discussions with customers with plenty of passion and emotion which rekindled the spirit of the growing GLP family."
On the product side, Prolight + Sound 2022 also proved to be a major success for GLP. The impression X5 Compact, wh

The release enables a faster and easier workflow

MA Lighting releases grandMA3 software v1.7

Details: 18 May 2022

Germany - MA Lighting has released the grandMA3 software version 1.7. This release offers MAtricks in presets, reworked preset editor, easier creation of recipes, faster programming of phasers and more intuitive timing and speed.
In addition, there are new features as well as ‘lots of improvements’. XYZ programming, preview functionality and a DMX tester have been implemented. Important menus like Backup and Patch have been reworked for a faster and easier workflow.
Importantly, the grandMA3 software release version 1.7 takes the next step towards a future-proof lighting control system. It reacts to the rising complexity of shows and the increasing requirements in the different market segments.
The software delivers ‘a massive parameter upgrade for most grandMA3 devices’. The parameter upgrade just comes with the software update to grandMA3 v1.7.

Gemini 2x1 Hard can deliver a powerful 20° beam of accurate hard white light

Litepanels extends Gemini range

Details: 18 May 2022

USA - Litepanels has announced a further expansion of its Gemini RGBWW LED panel range. Litepanels’ Gemini 2x1 Hard RGBWW LED Panel delivers up to 23,000 lux @10ft/3m of output from a lightweight, compact fixture.
Just like the Gemini 1x1 Hard released a year ago, the double-size Gemini 2x1 Hard produces highly accurate full spectrum white light as well as RGB output and a range of creative cinematic effects. It weighs just 25.3 lbs (11.5kg), including yoke and integrated power supply, and has a maximum power draw of just 500W. Twice the size of its smaller sibling, Gemini 2x1 Hard produces an output that is seven times brighter than the Gemini 1x1 Hard, creating a large volume of punchy light that can be easily softened with a range of diffusers.
“Gemini 2x1 Hard produces a greater volume of light than any other RGBWW LED panel available to gaffers and lighting de

Case Study: Hans Zimmer Live

When award winning film composer Hans Zimmer brought his smash-hit tour Hans Zimmer Live to North America fall 2024, the show's audio team sought out to bring infrafrequency bass to the show to add new depth to the show's audio experience. The team chose Danley Sound Labs.

The scheme covers products purchased on or after 17 May 2022

Baldwin Boxall introduces seven-year warranty

Details: 18 May 2022

UK - Since its formation in 1982, the Baldwin Boxall brand has become a steadfast symbol of reliability and quality. Celebrating 40 years the company has announced the introduction of a seven-year warranty on all its own manufactured products purchased on or after 17 May 2022. The news was revealed to all at Firex in May.
The announcement is seen as proof of Baldwin Boxall’s confidence in their products and sends a strong message to anyone considering their options when choosing life safety communication systems.
Commenting on the introduction, Nick Baldwin, sales & marketing director at Baldwin Boxall, stated, “We are delighted to be making this announcement which, I feel sure, will provide further reassurance to customers and users of our systems. We are often made aware of systems installed 15 years or more ago, which are still fully functioning and in dail

The Brick Box and artist Fabric Lenny created the live artwork on the Assembly’s exterior frontage

PAS supplies visuals and audio for PPP event

Details: 18 May 2022

UK - The People’s Property Portfolio (PPP) is a community benefit society with a mission centred on urban regeneration. Determined to create real community spaces in a way that is social and authentic, the society aims to secure buildings through community ownership to help develop social enterprise and support cultural activity. The society recently launched its work in Bradford, marking the occasion with an event at Assembly Bradford, a creative workspace for freelancers, remote workers, small businesses and creative organisations.
To complement the presentation of its vision inside the building, PPP engaged arts company The Brick Box and artist Fabric Lenny to create an eye-catching and dynamic live artwork on the Assembly’s exterior frontage. The Brick Box producer Harry Jelley consulted with Bradford-based Pro Audio Systems (PAS) over the best way to achieve the art

Holoplot wins stand design award at ISE

Details: 18 May 2022

Spain - Holoplot took the prize for medium sized stand in the ISE 2022 Stand Design Awards, organised by Exhibitor magazine.
Every stand on the ISE show floor at FiraI Barcelona, Gran Via was automatically entered in the free competition and judged on site by an international panel of designers and exhibition-industry experts. Finalists selected in each of the four size-based categories were notified on the show floor, and the winners were announced at an awards ceremony.
Other winners included Luhkee, Vestel and Sony

Clear-Com products can be configured in multiple ways to meet the communication requirements

Clear-Com assists referees at Copa América

Details: 18 May 2022

Brazil - The 2021 Copa América tournament was the 47th edition of the international men's football championship organised by South America's football ruling body, CONMEBOL. Clear-Com’s Brazilian partner, Savana Comunicações, in conjunction with Mediapro Group Paraguay, were charged with providing the video assist referee (VAR) equipment and expertise for the Copa América games taking place in five different stadiums in Brazil.
Clear-Com products can be configured in multiple ways to meet the communication requirements of VAR, and each of the five stadiums used a different combination of Eclipse HX Digital Matrix System, HelixNet Digital Network Partyline, FreeSpeak II Digital Wireless Intercom, Clear-Com Encore Analog Partyline, LQ Series of IP Interfaces and V-Series Iris Panels to make VAR implementation possible during the tournament.
A video assist referee is

BikeFest Spain 2025 - Join the ride!

BikeFest Spain is set to return for its fourth consecutive year, inviting cyclists from across the industry to join the 360km ride towards ISE in Barcelona. From 31 January to 2 February 2025, riders will again rally in Valencia, cycling along the Mediterranean coast in support of industry causes.
For more information and to sign up, visit: www.joinbikefest.com

The theatre’s latest investment is Cameo spotlights from the Zenit and Opus series

Auditorium de Palma invests in Cameo

Details: 18 May 2022

Spain - The Auditorium de Palma de Mallorca is a multifunctional building that accommodates theatre, opera, ballet, musicals and concerts, welcoming around 100,000 total visitors annually to its large, 1,700-seater hall. Emulating its inspiration, the Royal Festival Hall in London, the hall is designed in such a way that the stage is optimally visible from all seats. The theatre’s latest investment is Cameo spotlights from the Zenit and Opus series for use in the hall, as well as for the exterior lighting of the building.
Four Zenit W600 outdoor LED wash lights are currently lighting the theatre’s main facade. Three further units are to be added in the future for the side facade. In the hall itself, 12 Zenit W600 wash lights (which feature interchangeable lenses) are used on the cyclorama screen at the rear of the stage. In addition, 16 Cameo Opus Spot Moving Heads are u

Events will include tests of strength, endurance and industry skills (illustration: Leremy | Dreamstime.com)

Inaugural Roadie Games join Kartfest 2022

Details: 18 May 2022

UK - The Roadie Games will take place alongside this year’s Kartfest, charity Backup has announced. Described as a “fun-filled addition” to the main event, the Roadie Games will include tests of strength, endurance and industry skills such as a Socapex Tug of War, Radio Mic Challenge, Followspot Small Bore competition, and Lamp and Spoon race.
The Games will run alongside the annual industry karting day with drivers and non-drivers encouraged to enter. New entrants specifically for this event are also welcome.
Teams, companies and sponsors are invited to register their interest in taking part at kartfest@backuptech.com

Mavericks reflect many sides of The Zombies

Details: 18 May 2022

USA - Last year, David Beebe became one of the first house LDs to add Chauvet Professional’s Maverick Force S Spot to his rig when he took shipment of six of the then-new 350W lightweight movers from JRLX at The Birchmere club, where he’s been looking after the lighting since 2004.
At the time, Beebe explained the move by saying he was expecting the new fixtures to add “another dimension” to his lightshows, allowing him to incorporate new looks to reflect the diverse mix of artists that take to The Birchmere’s stage. This April, he provided another example of how the fixtures have exceeded his expectations when he created a deeply evocative show that morphed from psychedelic to old school rock, to jazz looks.
This time, the show has an extra-special personal touch for Beebe, as the band he was lighting were the Rock and Roll Hall of Famers, The Zombies. “I

The festival is set to welcome approximately 35,000 guests

Christie plays key role at Festival de Cannes

Details: 18 May 2022

France - Christie is the official projection technology partner for the 75th Cannes Film Festival. The event, which runs 17-28 May, will see projectors from across Christie’s broad portfolio powering screens throughout all venues. The festival is set to welcome approximately 35,000 guests, a significant increase over last year’s 24,000. Christie will provide installation and show support for the occasion, as it celebrates its 16th year as technical partner.
“It is a tremendous honour to continue our association with Festival de Cannes, with its renowned prestige and rich history making it a truly unique celebration, year after year,” says Adil Zerouali, senior sales director, Cinema EMEA, Christie. “We will aim to showcase this year’s outstanding line-up of films in the most visually impactful way possible with our leading projection technology. It’s great to s

PLASA Focus Leeds provided an opportunity for the industry in the north of the UK to reconvene and remains a key event for the sector

PLASA Focus Leeds makes a triumphant return

Details: 17 May 2022

UK - After an unavoidable two-year hiatus, PLASA Focus Leeds made a triumphant return to the Royal Armouries from 10-11 May for the 12th edition of this much-loved industry event. With visitor levels exceeding expectations, the strong sense of industry unity on the show floor could not be ignored. Following the successful return of PLASA Show to London Olympia in September 2021, PLASA Focus Leeds provided the first opportunity for the industry in the north of the UK to reconvene for what remains a key social and business event for the sector.
Taking place across two days and with its usual capped stand size format, the enduringly popular show once again provided a relaxed and convivial atmosphere for networking, business, product presentations and demos. Visitors returned in large numbers to get hands-on with the latest tech, and to meet face-to-face with industr

The Week in Light & Sound

Details: 17 May 2022

Review Programme - Arts Council England’s future is to be considered as part of a government review into all arm’s length bodies, which could see some bodies scrapped and significant savings demanded from those that remain. The newly launched Reviews of Public Bodies programme, run by the Cabinet Office, will examine the operations of all arm’s length bodies in England and assess whether "they should be abolished or retained", as well as whether money allocated to them is spent effectively. Savings of at least 5% per organisation should be identified as part of the review process.
The department will lead reviews in charge of each public body, meaning the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport will be asked to review the public bodies it sponsors, including the Arts Council, the BFI, the National Lottery Community Fund and Historic England.
At pr

Polar adds BDM and marketing assistant

Details: 17 May 2022

UK - Polar has announced the expansion of its team with the appointment of two new members of staff. Mark Bracken has joined Polar’s integrated solutions team as a business development manager, whilst Joe Glading has been recruited as a marketing assistant.
Bracken is an experienced AV industry professional who has enjoyed sales, marketing and business development roles with Cloud Electronics, Imagesound, Rolec Music and Hayden Laboratories, before broadening his scope as a freelance consultant in the video sector.
“As the world began to emerge from the worst effects of the pandemic, I was looking for a new challenge within which I could bring together the skills and experience I’ve gained across different areas of the AV industry,” says Bracken. “When the opportunity with the Polar integrated solutions team arose, it aligned perfectly with that ambition, an

Prolight showed fixtures from LEDJ and eLumen8 along with the new pixel bars from Lucenti

Prolight brings Lucenti at PLASA Focus Leeds

Details: 17 May 2022

UK - At PLASA Focus Leeds, Prolight Concepts Group unveiled a new distribution partnership with Lucenti. On show from the Belgian lighting manufacturer were the Blackwave pixel bar series and Vinci DMX-addressable festoon lamps.
Blackwave is a IP66-rated series of pixel-mappable bars controllable by Art-Net or sACN. The fixtures have a 120° viewing angle and a black front cover, with clear, frosted, rounded or square covers also available.
The system is configured by using one controller for up to 64 bars arranged in groups of eight (1m bar) or 16 (0.5m bar). The strips are easy to link via the Blackwave combined power and data cables, and benefit from automatic patching, configuration and a bi-directional feedback and monitoring using the www.klstr.tech technology.
The 1m and 0.5m bars are designed to be used in demanding environments like stages, clubs and on

Cobra was developed as a versatile luminaire

Ayrton debuts Cobra laser source IP65-rated luminaire

Details: 17 May 2022

Europe - Ayrton has introduced Cobra, its first phosphor laser source, IP65-rated luminaire, based on the concept of Dreamspot 18K which it first presented at Prolight+Sound 2016.
Several years of development have gone into designing and finalising this luminaire, which offers a next generation speckle-free laser source, designed for rendering a D65 white point that allows perfect colour reproduction.
Cobra pushes all the limits when it comes to beam definition, with native contrast never before achieved by a digital light source, an incredible beam angle of 0.6°, and an extreme range of focus, XT-Focus, which permits the beam shape to be adjusted according to the operating distance.
Cobra is the only luminaire on the market capable of illuminating an object several kilometres away, with an output of 386,000 lux at 20m and an unprecedented 38x zoom ratio and a

MegaPointes were deployed all over the rig (photo: Lindsay Cave)

Hans Zimmer on the road with Robe

Details: 17 May 2022

Europe - Hans Zimmer hit the road this spring on a much-anticipated tour. Delayed due to the pandemic, his 19-piece band and an orchestra delighted fans all over Europe.
The lighting design was delivered by John Featherstone from lighting and visual design studio Lightswitch. John and his team pushed for an all Robe moving light rig for the tour which started production rehearsals in Berlin with 250 Robe fixtures onboard ahead of the first European leg, with lighting equipment supplied by German rental specialist, Satis & Fy.
Featherstone explained how the design process originally started back in 2019 / 2020 with Hans curating his creative ‘dream team’ which included renowned Broadway set and scenic designer Derek McLane, video designer Peter Nigrini, choreographer Barry Lather, and of course, himself. “Hans is a master at putting collaborators together,”

The Rock Believer world tour opened at Madison Square Garden (photo: Manfred Nikitser)

Follow-Me tracks Scorpions on world tour

Details: 17 May 2022

USA - Scorpions recently released the19th studio album of their, over 50-year, band career. After several weeks at the Zappos Theatre at Planet Hollywood, Las Vegas, they started the Rock Believer world tour in early May beginning with a special concert at Madison Square Garden, New York.
Austrian Manfred Nikitser has been accompanying the internationally successful band as lighting designer since 2016. In addition to the lighting design, Manfred also created the complete show design (stage set and video) for both the Sin City Nights residency in Las Vegas and for the subsequent tour.
Manfred selected the remote follow-spot system from Dutch manufacturer Follow-Me: Follow-Me 3D SIX. The centre piece of this redesigned show is a pyramid-shaped drum riser in front of a semi-circular stage set made of custom-made metal grilles, which houses numerous spotlights and blinde

The venue, set on two levels, is one of the largest of its kind in the north of England

Blackpool complex chooses Martin Audio WPS

Details: 17 May 2022

UK - A complex, and reconfigurable Martin Audio Wavefront Precision design throughout the new Blackpool Conference and Exhibition Centre is the brainchild of system designer Samuel Williams of Derby-based Media Powerhouse.
The first major building development at the Winter Gardens complex since the construction of the Opera House in 1939, the venue, set on two levels, is one of the largest of its kind in the north of England. It features the necessary infrastructure for hosting modern conferences and exhibitions. Media Powerhouse’s integration includes cutting edge projection video and smart lighting technology as well as Martin Audio scalable line arrays in each of the eight rooms
The exhibition space is set on the first floor, with a large 2,000-capacity conference space on the second floor. It is conceived as four separate but reconfigurable venues on both floors.

The cost of reconstruction was budgeted at PLN 25m ($6m US), with over half coming from EU funds

Poland’s largest theatre upgrades with Optocore

Details: 17 May 2022

Poland - The country’s largest drama theatre has reopened after lockdown, to reveal a major renovation to its various spaces, which took up much of 2021.
In order to preserve its impressive heritage, it was recognised that Jan Kochanowski Theatre in Opole (JK Opole Theatre) would need to undergo full modernisation, and a thorough overhaul of its technical infrastructure, fulfilling a dream it had nurtured for several years.
The cost of reconstruction was budgeted at PLN 25m ($6m US), with over half coming from EU funds.
The project, which took eight months to fulfil, included the renewal of the main building façade, the entrance and surroundings, the modernisation of stages and auditorium (including ventilation), as well as sound and lighting systems. This included a complete Optocore fibre network, based around the deployment of five AutoRouters.
The t

The debate promoted a lively Q&A at the end of the session

Entec UVC SafeClean carries out COVID-safety seminar

Details: 17 May 2022

UK - During last week’s PLASA Focus Leeds, Entec UVC SafeClean presented its research on creating COVID-free environments and busted some of the myths surrounding pathogen eradication.
Entec UVC SafeClean specialises in environmental germicidal disinfection, effective against COVID-19 variants as well as all other viruses. During the seminar at the Bury Theatre, Entec Group chairman Nick Pendleton presented scientific research on creating COVID-safe environments. He opened up by asking the audience several questions relating to their own personal COVID experience, and some 80% stated they expected COVID disruptions to continue, and almost as many said they had been involved in an event affected by COVID. “I was very surprised to receive such a strong view that the risk and problem had not gone away,” reflects Pendleton.
Aided by a portable Goldensea UVAIR 216 ul

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Case Study: Hans Zimmer Live

BikeFest Spain 2025 - Join the ride!

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